Rising star Tyrese Haliburton had himself a career night against the 76ers, who could have potentially had the 21-year-old guard if the Ben Simmons deal went through.
Advertisement
It’s no secret now that Ben Simmons wants to leave the city of Philadelphia after the incidents over the past few months. In fact, the Sacramento Kings were one of the teams that were in pursuit of the Australian star. And for what it’s worth, they seemed to be the front runners for the same.
However, as per the latest reports, the Kings are no longer in pursuit of Simmons as the Sixers’ asking price was too steep. The 76ers were of the opinion that young guard Haliburton was not of the level they were after.
ESPN Sources: The Sacramento Kings – one of the most aggressive teams in the market and once an eager suitor for Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons – have ended pursuit of a deal with the 76ers and turned elsewhere in trade talks. Story soon.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2022
And oh boy! After his latest performance against Philly, the Sixers front office could not have been more wrong about Tyrese Haliburton. The Iowa product had a career-high 38 points on the night, including a tough fadeaway triple in the corner in front of Philadelphia’s bench.
Tyrese Haliburton…HOW?!
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 30, 2022
Why Tyrese Haliburton is the perfect fit for Philadelphia 76ers.
Tyrese Haliburton has been exceptional for the disgruntled Kings this season. The sophomore guard is averaging 13.8 points, 7.2 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game this season. While these numbers may not jump to you, it is because he is playing second fiddle to De’Aaron Fox.
To put things into perspective, Haliburton averages an impressive 21.8 points, 9.8 assists, and 4.3 rebounds in 8 games without Fox this season. While it is a small sample size, he has shown glimpses of having the ability to run an offense, something which the Sixers really need.
De’Aaron Fox went out on Covid protocols earlier this month.
Tyrese Haliburton since that point:
21.1 PPG
10.3 APG
50.5 FG%
47.5 3P%
91.3 FT% pic.twitter.com/QtGqspQiRr— StatMuse (@statmuse) December 30, 2021
Moreover, Haliburton can be a natural fit with Joel Embiid with his ability to play off the ball and his 3-point shooting, making 42.0 percent of his shots on nearly 5 attempts from downtown this season thus far.
Considering the Sixers’ lack of on-ball players, securing a highly skilled combo guard equally suited to play on or off the ball could make the team a whole lot harder to guard and, in turn, Joel Embiid’s life a whole lot easier.
If anything, Tyrese’s performance against Philly should show the Sixers front office he’s exactly the kind of player they need to pair with their superstar big man. If not, they will be wasting some of Jojo’s best years, and potentially, a ring.
